Please read these terms carefully before booking a transfer with Homebush Water Taxis.
Welcome to www.homebushwatertaxis.com.au (Website). These terms and conditions set out the terms on which we provide our water taxi services (Services) to you and regarding your use of our Website.
By making a booking with us, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions (including any amendments made by us) (Terms). If you do not accept our Terms, please cease use of our Website and do not make a booking. These Terms form a legal contract between you and us.
We reserve the right to vary these terms and conditions and any linked policies without notice to you by publishing revised terms on this Website. Any revisions are effective as at the time of publication.
Please Note: The amounts and times stated below are indicative and subject to change.
We operate a fleet of white water limousine vessels in the provision of water taxi services, including general taxi bookings, charters, cruises and transfers.
(a) Booking requests may be made via telephone or through our online booking system. Final details of your booking, including passenger numbers and trip details, must be finalised with us not less than 2 days prior to the date of travel.
(b) To confirm a booking we require provision of credit card details, including the card holder’s name (as shown on the card), the card number, the expiry date and the CVV number. We accept all major credit cards. Payments made by AMEX attract a 2.0% surcharge, Visa & Mastercard a 1.60% surcharge, and Visa & Mastercard Debit/Prepaid a 0.90% surcharge.
(c) We require you to provide us your current email address and/or mobile telephone number so we can confirm the booking. After receiving your credit card details we will confirm your booking by providing a booking reference number by email or text message.
(a) On receipt of a booking request, we will provide you with a quote on the basis of the Services and journey requested. Fees are quoted on the number of passengers, being the greater of the number of passengers nominated at the time of the booking and the number of passengers that travel with us.
(b) All bookings for trips that include travel between 11:00pm and 09:00am (whether commenced prior to or continuing after that time) incur a surcharge of $50.00 per vessel.
(c) If all passengers are not ready at the booked departure time, a waiting fee of $5.00 per minute is charged in addition to the quoted fee. We offer a 5 minute grace period; however if we are required to wait in excess of 5 minutes, the waiting fee is payable for all accrued waiting time from the scheduled departure time.
(d) After the grace period of 5 minutes has elapsed, we will call and/or send a text message to the mobile telephone number provided with the booking request. If after a further 10 minutes has elapsed you and your passengers are not ready to depart (for any reason) the booking will be deemed to be a cancellation and the full quoted fee plus 15 minutes waiting time ($45.00) will be charged to the credit card you provided with your booking request.
(e) In peak periods, including but not limited to Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, Australia Day, any other public holiday or days on which special events are happening on or around Sydney Harbour (Peak Periods), we may be unable to wait beyond the 5 minute grace period. In that case, we complete other scheduled bookings and return to you as soon as we are able to accommodate your travel. A re-scheduling fee of $75.00 per vessel applies in these circumstances.
(f) Due to possible variables for vessel transfers, that is, transferring passengers to/from another vessel, we cannot provide a firm quote for the fees payable at the time of booking. The fee payable will be based on:
(g) Subject to 2.2(h), in the case of cruises or charters that are delayed by the late arrival of you or your guests, you may elect to shorten the period of the cruise or charter by the period of delay and incur no waiting fees, or pay the waiting fee and the cruise or charter will run for the scheduled time.
(h) In Peak Periods we have the absolute discretion whether to extend the time of your cruise or charter by the period of delay arising from your lateness.
(i) Payment for our Services must be made on board the vessel at the time of travel, by cash, EFTPOS or credit card. If payment is not made on board, we will deduct the fees from the credit card nominated by you at the time of booking.
(j) GST is payable on all fees.
(a) Bookings for New Year’s Eve will only be confirmed once payment of the quoted fee is received in full by us. Such payment is non-refundable in any circumstance and must be received by 30 November, otherwise we reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to take other bookings.
(b) Given the number of vessels on Sydney Harbour on New Year’s Eve, we require all passengers to be present at the pick-up point 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. If all passengers are not present at the departure time (or those present are unwilling to travel without the missing passengers), we may take another fare and your booking will be deemed to be cancelled.
(c) On New Year’s Eve our services are governed by special event speeds, exclusion zones and wharf closures (such restrictions may also apply in any other Peak Period) and accordingly delays can be experienced. We use our best efforts to keep you informed of any such delays.
(d) Cancellations for bookings in a Peak Period must be received no less than 4 weeks before the scheduled departure date. If less notice is given, the full quoted fare will be debited from the credit card provided at the time of the booking.
(e) The online quotation does not apply for Special Event Days or Public Holidays, such as but not limited to New Year’s Eve, Boxing Day or any other public holiday or special events day. This also applies to bookings outside our regular trading hours of 09:00am to 9:00pm.
(a) You may seek to amend a booking by providing written notice to us, not less than 2 days (during normal business hours) prior to the scheduled date of travel. Where possible, we will accommodate your request for amendments if our schedule and vessel availability permits.
(b) On receipt of a request for amendments, if such amendment is possible, we will issue a revised quote and confirmation of the new booking details to you.
(c) Amendments are only effective once confirmed by us in writing (via email or text message).
(d) If an agreed amendment varies the pick-up or drop-off location(s), this may (in our discretion) result in a change to the fee for the booking.
(e) A request to delay or bring forward the pick-up time must be received by us no less than 1 hour before the scheduled departure time. We will notify you if such a request can be accommodated.
(f) If less than 1 hour’s notice is given to delay departure, and if such change can be accommodated, we may charge waiting time (at $5.00 per minute per vessel, subject to availability on the day/night, for the difference between the original departure time and the delayed departure time).
(g) If a request for amendment cannot be accommodated by us, and you do not wish to proceed with your original booking, the booking will be deemed to be cancelled and we may charge the quoted fee (or part of it) in the circumstances set out in point 2.5 below.
(a) Bookings may be cancelled by you on provision of written notice to us. Cancellations are only effective once confirmed by us in writing (via email or text message).
(b) In certain circumstances part of or all of our quoted fees for a cancelled booking will be charged to you, as follows:
| Timing of cancellation | Fee payable (if any) |
|---|---|
| Cancellation on the date of travel (including no-shows) | 100% of the quoted fee |
| Cancellation not less than one day (during normal business hours) prior to the date of travel | 50% of the quoted fee |
| For bookings quoted the day prior to travel, cancellation after 7:00pm on the day of booking | 100% of the quoted fee |
| For bookings quoted on the day of travel, cancellation within 1 hour of the scheduled departure time | 100% of the quoted fee |
| Cancellation of a booking for immediate pick-up | 100% of the quoted fee |
| Cancellation at all other times (subject to 2.5(c) and any other provision of these Terms) | Nil fee payable |
(c) Special conditions apply to cancellations in Peak Periods as set out at point 2.3 above.
(d) You agree that if charges apply for a cancellation, the charges will be debited from the credit card provided in the booking request.
(e) In the event that Homebush Water Taxis needs to cancel its services because of safety concerns for our passengers due to dangerous weather conditions or terrorist threat, a full refund will be made to the customer and Homebush Water Taxis will not be held liable for any losses by the customer.
(f) Due to the rare circumstance of vessel breakdown on the day of travel, Homebush Water Taxis will endeavour to supply a replacement vessel as soon as possible and cannot be held liable for any losses incurred by the customer.
(a) We take safety seriously, and accordingly, all decisions including but not limited to the vessel course, speed, wharf use and selection, vessel transfers and passenger numbers will be at the skipper’s absolute discretion.
(b) Smoking is prohibited on all of our vessels.
(c) Alcohol may only be consumed on cruises and charters, and passengers are not permitted to leave the vessel whilst consuming alcohol.
(d) We reserve the right, in our absolute discretion, to refuse entry or require any passenger(s) to leave our vessel who is intoxicated and/or displaying unruly or offensive behaviour. The full fare, plus waiting or additional charges incurred as a result of such behaviour, will be charged, whether or not you have undertaken your journey in whole or in part.
In handling your personal information, we are subject to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and are required to comply with the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) set out in that Act.
This Part 3 of our Terms sets out our Privacy Policy, including how we collect, use and disclose your personal information and your rights in relation to our management of your personal information.
By providing your information to us you agree that you have read this Policy and accepted the matters set out in it. We may update this Policy from time to time without notice to you by publishing a revised version on our Website.
We will collect different types of information about you including without limitation:
(a) Personal information is information that identifies an individual. By using our Services, contacting us by phone, or using our Website, we may collect your personal information including your name, telephone number, email address, address and credit card and/or EFTPOS details;
(b) Other information we receive about you from computers, mobile phones and other devices, such as your IP address; and
(c) We or our service providers may also place “cookies” (small files placed on the hard drive of your computer). Most cookies are “session cookies,” meaning that they are automatically deleted from your hard drive when you close your browser. We may use permanent or session cookies to help analyse web page flow, customise Services, content and advertising, and promote trust and safety for our users and our business. You can block our cookies by changing the settings on your browser.
All information we collect is stored either in hard copy and/or in our electronic database, which is available only to our staff and, to the extent that it is necessary to disclose any of your personal information, our financial service provider, accountants and/or lawyers.
We collect your personal information to provide you with the best possible service. It is collected:
(a) to provide our Services to you;
(b) to provide you with information about the other services we offer now or in the future;
(c) to provide you with information which we consider may be of interest to you, including newsletters and promotional offers;
(d) for liaising with our financial institution and/or your financial institution to effect a transaction for payment by you for our Services;
(e) to disclose your information to third parties that we engage to perform administrative or other Services for our business; the third parties will be subject to confidentiality obligations and will only be able to access your information for the purposes for which you supplied it.
We will not, without your prior consent, disclose your information to third parties in Australia or overseas, including but not limited to marketing companies, except as set out in this policy.
If our company or business is bought by someone else, we may share personal information with the buyer, but they must still comply with this Policy, subject to any amendments they may subsequently make.
We may also disclose your personal information if you give us your consent or if disclosure is required by law. We may store your information indefinitely unless you request us to delete it.
We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information that we hold is protected against misuse, loss, unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Our Website may contain various links and references to other websites. Please be aware that we do not control these websites and that this Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites. You should read the privacy policy of every website you visit. If in doubt, do not provide personal information via any website.
You consent to us contacting you from time to time to verify your personal information.
You have a right to access the personal information we collect and hold about you. If at any time you would like to access or change your details, or you would like more information on our approach to privacy, please contact us.
We take our obligations very seriously. If you consider that we have breached our privacy obligations and/or this Policy you may make a complaint by contacting us. We will endeavour to respond within 2 business days of receiving your complaint in an effort to resolve your concerns.
We use all reasonable measures to ensure that our Website is secure and all information provided to us via our Website is securely stored and disclosed only to the extent set out in our Privacy Policy (above).
Our Website is provided to you on an “as is”, “as available” basis, without any express or implied warranty by us. We cannot and do not warrant or represent that:
(a) our Website is free from errors or omissions, technical inaccuracies, programming bugs, viruses, harmful content or components, or interference (including malfunction of equipment or software, Internet access difficulties, or delay or failure of transmission);
(b) the functions contained in our online booking system on our Website will operate uninterrupted, as these functions are linked to our financial Services provider and may be unavailable from time to time due to no fault of ours; or
(c) our Website will operate on a continuous and uninterrupted basis. For example, our Website may be unavailable from time to time, including for maintenance purposes.
You represent and warrant to us that:
(a) you are over 18 and otherwise have the legal capacity to be bound by these Terms; and
(b) any information you give to us (including via the Website) is complete, truthful, accurate and up to date.
You indemnify and agree to keep us indemnified against any costs, expenses, damages, liability, loss (whether direct, indirect or consequential) or third party claims (including legal fees and other costs incurred on an indemnity basis) for or arising out of or in any way connected to your breach of these Terms or any malicious or negligent acts or omissions by you.
We are not liable for, and you release us from any liability to you whether arising in breach of contract, negligence or any other cause for:
(a) errors or omissions in our Website or linked sites;
(b) delays to, interruptions of or cessation of the Services provided by us arising from circumstances beyond our reasonable control (including but not limited to inclement weather);
(c) any consequential loss and (to the extent not already covered by that phrase) loss of profits and loss of opportunities in connection with your use (or inability to use) our Website or obtain our Services.
If you breach these Terms we reserve the right to refuse to provide our Services to you at any time at our absolute discretion without prior consultation or notice.
Any failure by us to enforce or insist on timely performance of any of these Terms, or any failure by us to exercise any right or remedy available to us under these Terms or at law, shall not constitute a waiver of any default by you under these Terms or our rights to insist on your continued compliance with these Terms.
If a dispute arises between us in relation to these Terms or any other matter related to our Services, before commencing legal proceedings (other than in urgent circumstances where an injunction is sought) the aggrieved party must notify the other in writing and we must both attempt to resolve the dispute informally and expeditiously. If you have a question or dispute you may contact us by email.
No matter where you are located, these Terms will be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the law of New South Wales, Australia. You and we submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia and courts able to hear appeals from them to determine any dispute arising out of or in relation to these Terms.
These Terms (together with any policies we publish) constitute the entire agreement between you and us and supersede all prior understandings or agreements, written or oral, about your use of our Services and this Website. If any part of these Terms is unenforceable the remainder will not be affected.
If you have any questions or comments about these Terms, please contact us on 0439 625 377 or at [email protected].
These Terms were last updated on 1 July 2026.